1. Field
The disclosed and claimed concept relates generally to electrical interruption equipment and, more particularly, to a circuit interruption device that employs a shape memory alloy element.
2. Related Art
Circuit interruption devices of many types are well understood in the relevant art. Among such well-known circuit interruption devices are circuit breakers, vacuum interrupters, ON/OFF switches, and the like without limitation. While circuit interruption devices have been generally effective for their intended purposes, they have not been without limitation.
Some applications require a circuit interruption device that is capable of operating in a high current environment, such as where current on the order of 400-500 Amperes is continuously fed. A circuit interruption device suited to such a circuit may potentially be difficult to move between ON and OFF positions. For this reason and for other reasons, such circuit interruption devices have thus sometimes employed devices such as solenoids and other such devices to switch the circuit interruption device to its OFF position in certain predefined circumstances. It is furthermore noted, however, that a solenoid that is suited to open the contacts of a circuit interruption device rated for 400-50 Amperes continuous feed can be bulky and heavy. Such bulk and weight are undesirable in certain applications, such as aerospace applications. It thus would be desired to provide an improved circuit interruption device.